It’s been just over 3 weeks since I’ve been back in Perth, so what have I done in this time and am I acclimatised to the life here yet?  How is the feeling so far?

 

Leaving Chiangmai, going through Malaysia and coming back to Perth.  Was met at the airport by mum and dad, even though it was 5.45am and had zero problems going through customs.

 

Spent the 1st day and night in Perth, it was a surprise for both Granny & my aunt & uncle that I was back.

And then spent the evening at my brothers place and to catch up with some friends and afterwards we all watched the Big Fat Quiz of the year, however I fell asleep after a little while, because I was just too exhausted.

His place is pretty damn amazing.  Right next to the beach, ginormous place living with 3 other people right by the beach.

Then got to Mandurah went out on the river for Australia day.

Unpacked and settled in a bit.  Found these after unpacking the boxes I sent back from China.

Both the Helmet & racing gloves I was wearing when I had the crash in Ordos.  You can see how well the helmet stood up, which is why I bought the exact same helmet afterwards.  Plus, how much the gloves protected me from all that grinding.

I started the formal planning for my latest project.  Which… is still a secret to many people, but mum helped me buy maps get them laminated.  My brother helped me getting a White board – easier to plan things on the go and keep them within sight.

And I’ve got the contact details of many people that have done something similar and can help me plan my own thing a bit better.

I also made an introduction ppt including timeline, costs, target audience, avenues of presentation etc. so that I can present the project to others so that they can better suggest things.

I’m trying that each week I meet with at least 1 important person.  Last week just gone

I met with a friend’s friend who is a video producer and he gave me a couple of recommendations for recording equipment, and editing.

And the week before I met with a friend of dad’s who has informed me on routes, emergency gear, mechanics, and general advice.

For those that are paying attention, it’s becoming fairly easy to piece together what I’m about to do.

Also went up the farm with Steve to see my aunty and uncle and pick up a few things.

Hopefully going to give my old iPad to my granny… so that it’s at least easier than a PC computer, where she’s getting all kind of viruses.  Plus then she can listen to audio books.

Celebrated both Granny’s and mum’s birthdays.  Still need to plan something interesting for mum.

Oh, and I’ve checked out gyms to go to, because you know … I need to get back in shape… haven’t actually joined yet, because I haven’t managed to transfer the money I have in Europe back to my Australian account.

I’ve started and finished a bunch of books. Namely the Critical Failures series.  Plus 2 other books by M.K. Gibson, To Beat the Devil very good, Villains Pride not so much.

I’ve edited and finished one video.  [link] And have learned a bit about YouTube whilst putting it up.  Also learnt that Australian internet is very slow…especially for uploading.

I’ve watched many tutorial videos and will be trying out what I’ve learnt on a backlog of videos.

Been getting annoyed with how expensive Adobe services is. Especially when all I really want is 3 apps. Premiere Pro being chief among them.

I’ve been doing a bunch of Chinese study too, plus I started reading the book The Twits in Chinese by Roald Dahl. I had a good go at reading George’s Marvellous Medicine before… but all the ‘ingredients’ were just too much work.

 

I’m eventually building my way up to Harry Potter in Chinese.  Last time I tried that I got up to page 12 and then gave up.

A friend sent me this too… 大吉大利， 晚上吃鸡！ It basically translates to Winner winner, chicken dinner!

Hahaha love that.  He’s been playing an online game called PUBG. It’s a bit weird, but you should just YouTube it.

Recently I downloaded a bunch of Chinese movies, for Chinese study…  I will hopefully be making a video about how to do that later.

Kind of crucial for Chinese learners because most tv shows… and Chinese movies… kind of suck, and what you really want to do is watch a western tv show or movie in Chinese.. and you CAN do it.. .its just difficult to find them.

But I managed to find these movies in 国语 – actually dubbed in Chinese (with Chinese & English subtitles + these movies with Chinese subtitles.  So looking forward to getting into that.

This is all part of my need to increase my Chinese level, or at least get it up to the same standard I had before… needed for the project I will be doing.
So I’ll be watching Murder on the Orient Express in Chinese soon.

Also managed to join a Chinese speaking practice group which meets every Thursday.  Looking forward to that.

Played squash with dad, managed 8 games at the hottest part of the day, and although I’m super unfit, I found that my shoulders held up well.. and I feel almost back to 100% health after the accident.  Which is awesome!

Oh and also walked down to check out Mandurah’s beach.  Nice, but not as good as Scarborough’s. 

Have caught up with a few family friends.
And last weekend caught up with my good friend Feaksie who has also returned from China for good.Good that we can both accustom to being back from overseas at the same time.

I’ve decided that I’ll try to make it to Perth at least once a week, whether it be to catch up with friends or to meet someone important for me realising my project.Made the journey to Perth a few times now, once on the train, 3 times by driving and once on the motorbike.  The car is the much better option.

With the bike… nice bike as it is… you just get bored. Even if you listen to a book.. its just not a comfortable journey.  Driving for more than 1 hour and you can’t just accelerate because you know, Australia cares about speed limits.  It’s not something I want to repeat often.

When listed out, this looks like a lot.  But I’m not really satisfied with it.  I really hope to do much more in the next 3 weeks.

…Still haven’t got an Australian SIM card yet, have to do that this week.